Jimmy Somerville Surprises 'Smalltown Boy' Busker in Berlin [Video]

You’re busking away on the streets of Berlin, hoping to get 10, maybe 15 euros and treat passers by to a spot of music. You’re jamming away to Bronski Beat’s Smalltown Boy when Jimmy Somerville – the singer of the original song – turns up and joins in.

Jimmy Sommerville Helped Out a Busker in Berlin This Week

It’s the pipe dream of every busker the world over, but it happened to one street performer in Berlin who might just give up busking now, as he’ll never be able to top that session.

He was merrily strumming away to Smalltown Boy when a small Scottish man sidled up next to him – a confused dog on a lead very much in-tow – and began singing along. The busker took a second to gather himself, but quickly readjusted to kick off the song while the audience filmed proceedings.

The song, which has enjoyed a spike on Youtube thanks to the busker’s welcome guest, reached #48 on the U.S Chart, and was more popular in Australia, where it peaked at #7.

Bronski Beat formed in 1983. Members Somerville, Larry Steinbachek and Steve Bronski shared a three-bedroom flat at Lancaster House in Brixton before signing a reacord contact with London Records in 1984.

They were known for their anti-homophobic lyrics, and the track, Small Town Boy became somewhat of an anthem for the homosexual movement in the 80s.

The song itself is about a young boy finding himself as a gay man in an otherwise backwards thinking ‘small town’. Jimmy Somerville left the band in 1985 to form The Communards and then went on to have a solo career.